ing tight junction proteins as biomarkers of disease activity in MS and further investigations in larger cohorts are needed to clarify this issue.
Higher levels of occludin suggest an increased permeability of the BBB and/or the intestinal barrier in MS patients. The reduction of occludin after 12 months on DMTs might reflect repair of these barriers upon treatment. However, plasma levels of ZO-1 and occludin could not predict clinical or MRI disease activity as determined by regression and ROC-curve analysis. Our results do not indicate a clear clinically relevant role for circulating tight junction proteins as biomarkers of disease activity in MS and further investigations in larger cohorts are needed to clarify this issue.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating CNS disease and the most common neurological immune-mediated disorder. Due to its progressive format, it affects patients' quality of life (QoL) significantly. This study aimed to evaluate epidemiologic parameters of MS in the Asia and Oceania continents.
A comprehensive literature search on October 1st, 2020, was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to retrieve original population-based studies on MS epidemiology in the Asian and Oceanian countries, published between January 1st, 1985 and October 1st, 2020. The designed search strategy was repeated for each country, and the relevant referenced articles were added to our database. A random-effect model was used to combine the epidemiological estimates, and subgroup analysis was also performed by continent, region, and country, when possible. Meta-regression analysis was done to evaluate the effects of Human Developmental Index (HDI), latitude, and study period on the epidemiologic parametn the HDI, and the total prevalence in Asia increased with increasing latitude gradients. Also, the study period had a positive effect on the total prevalence and incidence in Asia and Oceania.
MS prevalence and incidence have increased in recent decades. This study highlights the need for further studies to elucidate MS's geographical and temporal variations' exact etiologies.
MS prevalence and incidence have increased in recent decades. This study highlights the need for further studies to elucidate MS's geographical and temporal variations' exact etiologies.Recently, a combination of cilostazol and ambroxol has been used in the clinical treatment of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP). However, the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction (DDI) of cilostazol and ambroxol has not been reported. In this paper, a rapid, reproducible and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of cilostazol and ambroxol in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat plasma was established and validated for the first time. Domperidone was used as the internal standard (IS) and one-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method was used to extract analytes and IS from plasma samples with methyl tert-butyl ether as extractant. A rapid chromatographic separation within 4.8 min was carried on an Ultimate ® XB-C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-acetonitrile-formic acid (0.1%) aqueous solution (9028, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 500 μL/min. The quantitative detection of the analytes and IS were performed on a positive electrospray ionizat.Accurate quantification of plasma aldosterone (ALD) and renin activity (PRA)is critical for the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is considered the "gold standard" method for the determination of ALDand PRA. The aim of this study is to develop a new LC-MRM/MS assay for quantifying plasma ALD, PRA, and angiotensin II (Ang II) simultaneously and validate its effectiveness. To be more specific, plasmasamples were prepared by solid-phase extraction and separated in an ultra-performance reversed-phase column. MS detection was performed via a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer containing both positive and negative ion monitoring modes. The developed assay was then validated according to the standard guidelines and the influence of sample incubation on ALD and Ang II concentration was evaluated. In addition, the variation of endogenous Ang I was explored. The proposed LC-MRM/MS method was compared another LC-MS/MS method, which detects ALD, Ang I, and Ang II separately. Analyteswere separated and quantified within 5 min. The assay wasvalidated to be linear up to 5000 pg/ml for ALD and Ang II and 33.3 ng/ml/h for PRA.The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 15 pg/ml, 15 pg/ml, and 0.1 ng/ml/hfor ALD, Ang II, and PRArespectively. Specificity, precision, accuracy, and stability were tested to meet the requirements of the guidelines. Significant changes were not found in ALD and Ang II concentrations over the 3 h-incubation. In addition, it was demonstratedthat the resultof PRA was not stronglyinfluenced by the endogenous Ang I. Comparison with another LC-MS/MS method was performed using the same apparatusand the proposed method was proved to be in good coincidence with the correlation coefficients rangingfrom 0.955to0.996. A sensitive and reliable method for simultaneousquantification of ALD, PRA, and Ang II has been developed and this study will significantly promote laboratory workflow efficiency and throughput.Previous studies have found that the expression level of Megalobrama amblycephala intelectin (MaINTL) increased significantly post Aeromonas hydrophila infection, and recombinant MaINTL (rMaINTL) protein could activate macrophages and enhance the phagocytosis and killing activity of macrophages. In order to reveal the immune regulatory mechanisms of MaINTL, primary M. amblycephala macrophages were treated with endotoxin-removed rMaINTL and GST-tag proteins, then total RNA were extracted and used for comparative Digital Gene Expression Profiling (DGE). 1247 differentially expressed genes were identified by comparing rMaINTL and GST-tag treated macrophage groups, including 482 up-regulated unigenes and 765 down-regulated unigenes. In addition, eleven randomly selected differentially expressed genes were verified by qRT-PCR, and most of them shared the similar expression patterns as that of DGE results. https://www.selleckchem.com/ GO enrichment revealed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly concentrated in the membrane part and cytoskeleton of cellular component, the binding and signal transducer activity of molecular function, the cellular process, regulation of biological process, signaling and localization of biological process, most of which might related with the phagocytosis and killing activity of macrophages.